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bits + pieces. {a new friday ritual.}
photo one: imagination play.
photo two: fresh hot kolaches.
photo three: friday breakfast.
photo four: a good book.
photo five: sweet frances farmer.
photo six: best buddies.
photo seven: puzzle pieces.
photo eight: a quiet house.
photos nine & ten: a sleeping baby
if you feel inspired to post your own bits + pieces, please do. feel free to link yours in the comments below for all to see. xo.
a few things as far as home school goes... we started french lessons today. the kids learned how to count from one to ten "en français" and now know how to write and spell each word. i am seriously impressed. they are really quick and are totally into learning the language. we just ordered the learnables french
i also put together demo kits for the kids today. little boxes full of trinkets like rubber bands, buttons, spools, small blocks, etc. to help with study and problem solving by representing things and to help understand concepts. i have used demonstration kits myself and find them very useful.
i had a few questions and comments on my last post that i thought i would address here...
some people asked about curriculum choices... we are actually using an assortment which i will update you on as i know more about each of them, so that i can make honest reviews and suggestions. one really great free online resource that i will share is homeschoolmath.net. they have hundreds of printable math work sheets, sorted by grade level up to grade six. i definitely recommend checking it out.
i also wanted to address the following comments that were left below:
i don't normally address comments like these on the blog, however this time i thought that i would since, well, i want to. this commenter, who is going by the name "helping", is not the first person to question my parenting choices, my decision to home school, intentions, etc. etc. etc. here's the deal... these kind of comments don't bother me. they don't make me think "oh no, am i doing the wrong thing for my children?" i know whats best for my kids. i am their mother and i love them very much. but i will say this...
home schooling was not something that i just chose to do on a whim one day. my ex-husband and i have always felt the same when it came to schooling our children. we are not big fans of the public school system and would love to be able to afford to put our kids in a good private school, however the economy is down right now and we simply cannot afford to do so at this time. we have always known that once our kids reached middle school level that we wanted them to go into private school so that we could have a little more control over what they were exposed to and their education. there were other reasons that helped my decision to home school my oldest that i have explained in past posts such a bullying etc., but this is the greatest good for them at this time. milla had the choice to continue going to her school until middle school or to home school along side julian. that was her decision and i am so glad that she made it. i researched home schooling, spoke to numerous teachers, talked to other parents that home school and adults that were home schooled. this was a long, educated decision for my family. the biggest concern it seems, from onlookers is the social aspect of home school kids. my kids have been in private and public schools since they were in preschool. julian for 6 years and milla for 4. they are very social, outgoing children and have many friends. friends from school that they have known since kindergarten, close family friends, our friends young and old. if you read my blog you can see that we are a very active family. we do not just sit around cooped up in the house all day long. we are constantly surrounded with friends and family. our house is full of kids on any given day. their friends come over all the time. they have sleep overs, afternoon get togethers, movie nights, meet ups etc. i know that socialization will not be an issue for my kids. we are also looking at several local home school co-ops and field trip groups where they will get to meet more friends and establish new relationships with plenty of children their age. we are trying something new in their best interest. so no, i do not want what "the state" wants for my children, i want what i think is best for my children. as far as only publishing comments that support me and not what "the greater good of america and the majority of people think"... this is not the case either. first of all, these opinions are not the majority here on this blog. most of my readers support our decision. also, these comments were left at 2:15 in the morning while i was asleep and i did not see them until morning. i will approve a comment that is critical so long as it is constructive. even if it goes against my opinions, choices or beliefs. the only times that i will not publish comments are those that are meant to do nothing but harm my family. that's that.
in other news...
milla's room tour was on ohdeeoh today.... so exciting!
many of you asked where we bought the little fruit with faces featured in the post below. they are actually key chains by kidrobot. you can buy them here and here.
we got some new materials to craft with this week. i'm excited to see what the kids come up with. milla plum is excited to make necklaces with these colorful wooden beads.
i know that i'm a little late on this, but we were featured in the september issue of lucky magazine. there was a pull out lucky kids mag in the back and we were listed under their favorite blogs by moms and i have been chosen to be a contributor to the lucky kids blog. yay!
and lastly, i have had a few people ask about my fashion posts... when will i post more and do i plan on continuing them. i do, however i have had zero time. i tend to post more fashion posts during the summer months because i only have one kid to take care of and it's easier for me to snap outfit photos. now that the kids are back home and that we are home schooling, i have bigger priorities. i still love fashion and always will, but can only post them when i have time. i will try to do at least one or two a week when our schedule permits. our "what we wore" posts will still be a regular weekly occurrence. xo!
we started home school this week and i have to say that i am loving it. i get to spend the entire day with my kids and it's such a neat thing getting to teach them and to see first hand how they learn, what they are most interested in and what they are not so interested in. the kids love creative writing and math most at the moment. each morning they take out their composition books and do creative writing. this week we are working on creating stories based on their favorite collection of little foods with faces. it's really fun to see the adventures that they come up with. tomorrow we start their first french lesson. i took french for five years in school and am so excited to teach them and to brush up on the language myself. i think that my favorite part so far is julian's willingness to help milla. when she has a problem with anything, mostly math, he wants to pause what he is doing and help her out. he's so patient with her and really great at explaining things carefully so that she will understand. it's really cool.
so far we have found that it is best to break up our school day into two parts. an hour or so in the morning and another couple of hours after lunch while gemma is napping. we are still new at this whole thing but i am excited to share our trials, errors and progress with you all. i found an awesome curriculum store near our house with new and used books that i will frequent and i've also found many wonderful resources online that i am using. we are only just starting out, but i am really pleased with how well the kids are adjusting to being taught at home. the kids are starting their outside activities next week. guitar and flute lessons to start and then sports and dance to follow. i am so excited about this new chapter in our lives.
here are 'quite a few' peeks at birdie's birthday party. it was such a fun day but man was it hot outside. our closest friends and family came to celebrate with us. we made corn dogs and sliders, blew bubbles and played in the smilebooth. a lovely celebration for the sweetest baby girl. the perfect way to end the summer...
(sorry for the photo overload. there's lots & lots & lots.)
we waited to open most of the gifts until morning as it got close to bed time and miss bird needed some sleep after such a long day. we asked that if anyone wanted to bring a gift that they bring one of their childhood favorite books instead of a toy. she got a nice little stash of stories.
the end. xoxo!
footnote: gemma's birthday dress was from salvage house and milla's party dress was from oh dear things... two of my favorite etsy shops. a big ol' thank you to ashley meaders for the party inspiration (fyi... ashley is helping plan our wedding this november) and to my pal elizabeth for the sparkler idea. hugs!